Apparatus for shaping and polishing diamond dies



A. SIMONS Aug. 3, 1943.

APPARATUS FOR ISHAPING AND POLISHING-DIAMOND DIES Filed Aug. 2, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l l |l l 536257 'lll .I., I. .l

`INVETOR AfPa/v 5mm/vs ATTORNEY A. SIMONS Aug. 3, 1943.

APPARATUS FOR SHAPING AND POLISHING DIAMOND DIESV' Filed Aug. 2, 1941 2 Sheets-Shen?l 2 INVENTOR AA/o/v 5mm/vs ATTORN `Y Pa'tentecl Aug. 3, 1943 APPARATUS FOR SHAPINGI AND POLISHIN DIAMOND DIES Aaron Simons, Bronx, N.Y.

Application August 2, 1941, Serial No. 405,272

' Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for processing what are commonly referred to as drawing dies after the dies have been drilled for the purpose of properly shaping the passages through the die to provide the desirable entrance angle, and further in polishing the' surfaces of these passages to remove grooves, ridges or other irregularities in order to produce in the resulting passage of the die a substantially hyperbolic curvature; and the object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the character described, employing a series of rotatable die holders adjustably supported in an angular position with respect to a, strand or rod and with respectto the path of movement of the strand or rod relatively to the die in the operation of` shaping and polishing the same; a further object being to provide means for firmly supporting and reinforcing the strand or rod and for reciprocating the rod back and forth through the die cavity or passage while the die is rotated in the angular position described; and with these and other objects in view, as will be more fully hereinafter set forth, the invention consists in a method of shaping and polishing dies as more fully hereinafter set forth.

the bores or passages of dies of this type and kind, first to eliminate ridges and irregularities formed in these bores or passages, and secondly in properly shaping the entrance angle of the' passages in order to produce the most efcie'nt results in the drawing of wire not only from The invention is fully disclosed in the followconstruction broken away.

Fig. 3 is a sectional plane view of one end portion only of the machine illustrating the angular arrangement of the die supporting and operating members.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional View through one of the die holders and operating members illustrating a die 'arranged thereon.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 6 showing only part of the construction and with parts in a different position.

Fig. 6 is a face view of the structure as seen in Fig. 5.

'the standpoint of the characteristics of the resulting drawn wire, but also from the standpoint of maintenance of long-use` life of the die. Considerable time, eiort and expense has been devoted to the shaping and polishing of dies in the effort toattain what is considered to be the desired results, but to date little success has been accomplished in this end. With my present apparatus and method of shaping and polishing dies, the desired and heretofore sought result can be accomplished in a relatively simple, economical and practical manner. From a general standpoint, this result is accomplished by firmly and rigidly supporting a strand or wire in a predetermined path while reciprocating the strand in this path and supporting the same `in the passage of a die oli-centered with respect to the axis thereof, to maintain what might be termed a bearing or pressure upon the wall of the die passage. At the same time the die is supported at a slight angular offset with respect to the path of movement of the strand or wire, and rotated at relatively high speed so as to produce in the resulting'shaped and polished die, a wall structure in the passage of substantiallyhyperbolic cross sectional contour.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings I have shown one form of my apparatus as comprising a frame I0, including a base Il adapted to be secured as at I2 to a suitable support, a plate or table I3 arranged upon the base II, and brackets I4 extending upwardly from rear corners of the plate I3. The brackets and plate are secured to the base II as indicated by the bolts I5 to form a unitary frame structure. It will be noted that two brackets I4 have been provided in the drawings. However, as seen in Fig- 2, the machine has been broken away to show only four of the multiple umts thereof. It will be apparent thatadditional brackets, similar to the Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of a diamond before the same has been shaped and polished.

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 illustrating the result of shaping and polishing operations per` brackets I4, may be employed in a machine having a larger number of units.

vA main drive shaft I6 is rotatably mounted. at the upper ends of the brackets I4 and is driven by suitable means as indicated by the motor I'I, and the belt I8 passing around a pulley I9 -on the shaft I6. A supplemental drive shaft 2l) is mounted longitudinally of the base II and is driven at a reduced speed by a belt 2| passing around a large pulley 22 on the shaft 20 and a small pulley 23 on the shaft I6.

A plurality of die supporting units 24 are arranged at intervals along the table I8. Each of these units includes a base member 25 secured to the table I3 by a bolt 26 and having spaced upwardly extending rods 21 which slidably engage corresponding vertical passages 28 in a die supporting block 29. A transverse yoke 30 is secured to the upper ends of the rods 21 and is provided centrally thereof with a vertically adjustable screw 3I operating on the upper surface of the block 29. The block is supported against the screw 3l by the action of a spring 32 arranged between the lower surface of the block and the base 25.

The block 29 includes a circular hub'portion 33, protruding from the front surfacel thereof (note Fig. 4), on which'is mounted a pul1ey'34 preferably supported by an anti-friction bearing 35. The outer surface of the pulley 34 is provided with slight irregularities as seen at 36 to lpermit anchoring of a die mount 31 thereto by a` wax-like lm 38'. .A diamond or other die member 39 imbedded in the mount 31 is arranged in alinement with an axial aperture 40 in the pulley 34, and a larger aperture 4I in the block 29, the last named aperture being ared as seen at 42 to provide for angular arrangement of a polishing rod or strand 43 which is passed through the die 39. I

The angular arrangement of the strand 43 is 'provided by rotating the unit 24 to the desired angular position as seen in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings and clamping the same in position by the bolt 26. It will be noted in this connection that the axisA of the bolt 26 is directly beneath the center of the die 39 so that this adjustment in effect rotates the die about its center point; or in other words, about the point 44 as seen in Fig. 8 of the drawings.

The die 39 is rotated on its axis by means of a belt 45 passing around the pulley 34 and a corresponding pulley 46 onthe shaft I6. It will be apparent in this connection that the pulley 34 of each unit is driven by a separate pulley 46 on the drive shaft.

The strand 43 is supported by a yoke member 41 slidably arranged between the table I3 and base II of the machine and having spaced upwardly extending arms 48 passing through elongated apertures 49 in the table. The upper end of each arm 48 is of substantially U-shaped contour as seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings, and a dog 56 is pivoted thereto as seen at 5I, for clamping the strand 43 against a backing member 52 arranged in the body of the arm. lThe lower end 53 of the dog 58 is preferably of irregular contour to provide a firm clamping action upon the strand and to hold the strand rigid and straight in the operation of the machine. The backing member 52 protrudes from the arm 48 in 'the direction of the unit 24 and is provided with a guide groove or aperture 54 for alining 'the strand 43 with the center point 44 of the die.

l An additional guide member may be provided in the form of a bracket 55 having a vertical finger 56 provided at the upper end thereof with a slot 51 for engaging the strand. The bracket 55 is adjustably secured to the arm 48 to vary the distance of the slot 51 from the arm. Thus the bracket may be adjusted so as to support the strand 43 as close tothe unit 24 as possible in the reciprocating movement of the strand.

The yoke 41 carrying the strand 43 is reciprocated with respect to the unit 24 by a drive mechanism mounted on the shaft and operating on a downwardly extending leg 58 on the asamia I yoke. V'rms mechanism, as .shown in Figs. 1, 5,'

and 6, includes a gear 69 co-axially secured to an eccentric 60 and mounted eccentrically on the shaft 26. 'I'he eccentric 60 engages a circular aperture 6I in a yoke 62 which'is provided with another aperture 63 engaging `a corresponding eccentric 64. The eccentric 64 isl in turn keyed co-axially to a gear 65 which is similar to the gear 59. The spacing of the apertures 6I and 63 in the yoke is such as to bring the teeth of the gears 59 and 65 into operative engagement when the eccentrics are arranged in these apertures. The leg lIii) rotatably engages a protruding bearing 66,0n the eccentric 6 4, the bearing 66 being offset with respect to the axis of the eccentric 64 in accordance with the offset of the shaft 26 with respect to the axis of the eccentric 66.

When the shaft 20 is rotated in the direction of the arrow 61, the axis of the gear 59 and eccentric 66 will rotate about the shaft 20, While the axis of the gear 65 and eccentric 64 will rotate about the bearing 66. This will operate to raise-the gears and eccentrics together with thev yoke 62, and when the shaft 2U has been rotated 180 from the position shown in Fig. 1, the parts will assume the position shown in Fig. 6. During this movement, the bearing 66 has traveled u along a straight line as will be apparent and is moved througha distance equal to four times the offset of the shaft 20 or bearing 60 with respect to the axis of the corresponding gears and eccentrics.

The reciprocating movement of the bearing 66 is translated to the strand 43 through the sliding yoke 41, and thus a continuous back and forth movement of the strand is provided while the die is rotated in the manner previously described.

In shaping dies according to my invention, a drawing die is pre-shaped by suitable drilling operations to substantially the contour of the die 39 seen in Fig. 7 of the drawings. This contour includes a cylindrical throat 68 'and conical en-.

trance and discharge passages 69 and 16, respectively, which are coaxial therewith. The entrance passage is somewhat deeper than the exit passage to provide for the proper feed of a wire to be drawn and reduced by the die.` The roughly shaped die which is supported in a mount as seen at 31 is attached to the unit 24 by placingvthe same against the wax nlm 38 while soft. The die is properly alined in the unit by rotating the.pulley 34 while inserting a pointed object in the die and exerting pressure thereon in the direction of the pulley.

When the die is thus alined, the strand 43 is passed through the unit 24 and the die, and clamped to the arms of the yoke 41. The block `29 is then vertically adjusted by means of the screw 3| so that the strand 43 engages the wall of the cylindrical throat 68 as seen in Fig. 9. The angularity of the unit 24 is then adjusted by means of the bolt 26 so that the strand 43 is alined with the walls of the passages 69 and 16 as seen in Fig. 8 of the drawings. When thus adjusted, the machine is set into operation, the die being rotated and the strand 43 reciprocated while supported in bearing engagement with the edges 1I formed between the throat 68 and passages 69 and 10. The strand or rod 43 has suitable abrasive characteristics inherent therein or added thereto so that the edges 1I are graduallyA rounded to a smooth-curve contour. The resulting contour assumes a substantially hyperbolic curvature as seen in Fig. 8 of the drawings thereby providing for smooth passage of a wire through the die in a drawing and reducing operation. By eliminating all ridges or angularity in the die passage, the friction or resistance against the wire drawn through the die 4is reduced to a minimum.

My apparatus and method, as previously described, are readily put to practical and eiiicient use. Rough dies are mounted in each of a gang of units 24, and the units and strands are adjusted. Thereafter, the machine may be. operated foran extended period with little attention, until the dies are completely shaped. The only cause for interrupting this operation would be the `occasional necessity to' replace a worn or` broken strand 43. It should be noted in this connection that the strand is resiliently supported against the die bythe action of the spring 32 pushing upwardly on the block 29. This yieldable support prevents undue wear. on the strand and also enables the shaping operation to proceed uniformly in forming a true and smooth contour. It should also be noted that since the die is rotated at a high speed and the strand reciprocated at a low speed, the primary relative movement between the die and strand is a sliding of the strand around the surface of the die passage. There is, therefore, no tendency to produce grooves or ridges extending longitudinally of the passage, and the longitudinal movement of the strand serves to prevent the formation of any annular grooves or ridges.

In the showing in Fig. 2 of the drawings, it will be noted that the units 24 have been shown as in alinement with thestrands 43. This has been done merely to simplify the drawings, and it will be understood that the showing as in Figs. 1 and 3 indicate the true relative arrangement of the units and strands in the operation of the machine.

While the apparatus and method have been described essentially in connection with the reshaping of roughly shaped dies as seen for example in Fig. '7, they are equally adapted for the refinishing or polishing -of dies which have been worn or damaged in use. It should also be noted that the apparatus and method set forth may be used in shaping workpieces of any kind or class where it is desired to produce on the workpiece an annular surface portion of substantially hyperbolic cross sectional contour.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to Secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a machine for shaping workpieces, means supporting a tubular workpiece with the axis thereof substantially horizontal, an elongated tool extending through said workpiece in a substantially horizontal position, means supporting the ends of said tool to `maintain the same straight and rigid, said first and second named means being relatively adjustable for varying the angularity of said workpiece and tool, means for rotating said workpiece, means for moving said tool relatively to the rotating workpiece, and means adjustable with respect to said tool suD- porting means for reinforcing said tool in close proximity to said workpiece.

2. In an apparatus for shaping inner surfaces of tubular workpieces, means supporting a tubular workpiece, an elongated tool engaging the inner surface of said tubular workpiece, means Supporting end portions of said tool at opposite ends of the workpiece, said first named means being adjustable relatively to said tool to establish substantially a line contact between said tool and workpiece, means imparting relative sliding movement between said tool and workpiece, and means adjustable with respect to said tool supporting means for reinforcing said tool adjacent said workpiece.

3. An apparatus for shaping a drawing die having a pre-formed passage including a restricted throat and substantially conical entrance and discharge portions, said apparatus including a frame, a strand member supported for reciprocating axial movementin said frame, a unit rotatably supporting a 'die in connection with said frame with the strand passing therethrough, means in said unit providing radial and angular adjustment of the die supported thereby with respect to said strand to aline the strand with the throat and opposed wall sections of the entrance and discharge portions of the die, means simultaneously rotating said die at high speed and reciprocating said strand at 10W Speed in shaping the passage of said die to a smooth contour of substantially hyperbolic curvature, `said unit including a base portion and a die supporting block having an aperture therethrough to receive said strand, and the means providing vertical adjustment of said die comprising vertical guides on said base slidably engaging said block, adjustable means limiting upward movement of the block on said guides, and a spring supporting said block in engagement with said. last named means.

4. An apparatus for shaping drawing dies, said apparatus comprising a frame having coupled high and low speed shafts, a plurality of die supporting units arranged longitudinally of said frame, a corresponding number of abrasive strands arranged transversely of said frame and extending through said units and dies supported thereon, independent yoke means slidable in said frame for supporting and reciprocating said strands in substantially straight lines parallel to each other, said units being arranged angularly and offset radially with respect to said strands to provide substantially continuous contact between said strand and inner surfaces of said dies, the dies being arranged on rotatable members in said units, means independently coupling said members with said high speed shaft and means independently coupling the yoke means with said low speed shaft thereby to simultaneously rotate said dies and reciprocate said strand in providing abrasive action on said dies.

5. In a machine of the class described for shaping and polishing drawing dies. a die supporting unit comprising a base having upwardly extending guide means, a die supporting block slidably mounted on said guide means, said block having a flared aperture therethrough to receive an elongated die shaping member, a pulley rotatably mounted on said block co-axially with said aperture, means for anchoring a die mount to said pulley, cooperating means between said block and base for raising and lowering said block, and means in said base in vertical alinement with a die supported on said pulley for mounting said unit in the machine and providing angular ad- Justment thereof.

AARON SIMONE. 

